Approximately 1,500 students registered for tutoring this fall semester at the Learning Assistance and Resource Center, commonly known as the “LARC.” That is a whopping 300 more students than last year.
Why would there be an overflow of students coming to the LARC this semester?
The LARC provides tutoring in basic 100-200 level courses by highly skilled and qualified West Chester University students.
The Learning Assistance and Resource Center’s mission statement states that the LARC “strives to provide quality academic support services which help students become independent, active learners who achieve academic success.”
The LARC aims to promote cognitive development in a diverse student populations through assessing and teaching the affective skills necessary for achieving academic and person learning goals.
It also offers tutoring for 100-200 level courses in languages such as German, French, Spanish and Italian, as well as the sciences, effective writing, math, history, sociology and economics.
That is not all that the LARC offers.
It additionally helps with a program called “Brother To Brother” which helps minority male students gain retention in their academics.
The LARC is also pairing up with online tutoring and writing lab, Smarthinking to provide online tutoring 24/7 to students.
The LARC hires very qualified individuals to tutor students.
It is required that all tutors have a GPA of 3.2 or higher, but since 2007, all tutors have had a GPA of 3.7 or higher. All tutors are trained by the College Reading and Learning Association.
Some tutors are volunteers at the LARC and signed up at the Volunteer Fairs held on campus.
Other students are scouted by professors and sometimes the LARC scouts the students out if they need tutors for specific courses.
Being a tutor at the LARC requires a 20 hour/week commitment. So far, the LARC has hired 90 tutors this fall.
Currently, the LARC is hoping to find spaces in other venues across campus to hold tutoring sessions.
The center only has a limited amount of cubicles for tutors and tutees.
Dr. Gerardina Kenney, Interim director, and Courtney Lloyd, Assistant Interim director, share a cubicle in order to save space for their tutors.
The LARC has become a more “green” atmosphere. They recycle all material, and make sure to use paper on both sides to avoid having to print more copies.
Once the paper is all used up, they take it to the Chesterbrook Academy for recycling.
Dr. Kenney even has boxes outside of her office dedicated to the collection of bottle caps, Yoplait lids, and other things that are dedicated to charities or recycling.
The LARC is open from Monday to Thursday from 8a.m.-8p.m. and Friday from 8a.m. to 4p.m.
For more information, please contact Dr. Gerardina Kenney at 610-436-2535 or larc@wcupa.edu.
Angela Thomas is an English major who can be reached at AT683005@wcupa.edu.